Fluxing with Sawdust

[Three44s]

Changeling,

You might want to PM Bret4207 ...... he might not check in here but will surely fire you back a PM.

Three 44s

[trapper9260]

This pass weekend I melted some lead into igots that I had in blocks and did not know what BHN was so I took each cake and melted it to igots and cast a bullet to test for BHN . But what I use for fluxing is corn cobs that I had a farmer grind for me that I use to clean my brass. I put the corn cobs in after the lead is melted and just put enough to cover the surface and let it burn ,then I mix it in and it seem to draw the dirt to it and it seem to be cleaner then when I was usen wax. When I try to mix it in before it burn all the way it was not doing hardly any cleaning only after it is burn .It will catch on fire .that is when to mix. I will stick with it seam to work for me . Just though you all might be interested in some thing else that could be use.

[ghh3rd]

Thanks for sharing that trapper, letting it burn to ash before stirring it in seems to be the answer.

[qajaq59]

And if you are impatient with waiting for the sawdust to burn, just use charcoal. It's all the same thing. Carbon is carbon.

[redbird1976]

"lets the sawdust burn up on the surface and then stirs in into the lead, with excellent results."
Letting it burn to ash before mixing will prevent a visit from the tinsel fairy, because no matter how dry you think sawdust is "IT ISN'T". it is the ash you want anyway, mixing it before it turns to ash dosen't really help.

Does that mean that I can use the ash from the grill as flux?

[dragonrider]

I can't answer that, never tried it, never thought of it actually. I would think it would work, might be kind of fluffy, more so than wood ash. But that's the great thing about this hobby, you can try it and tell us about it.

[geargnasher]

Ash doesn't do much except cause problems if it gets under the melt and trapped on the bottom of the pot (if you bottom pour).

I seriously doubt the Tinsel Faery cares much about wet sawdust, because you would have a really difficult time getting it so submerge far enough to cause the lead to pop. I stir and futz with my alloy using a 3/4x1/2 hard maple rick about 18" long (when fresh) and it can make some really eerie rumblings when submerged in the pot the first time during a session, so I take it really easy until it dries out well. This wood chars very slowly and makes fine carbon dust that sloughs off as I scrape the sides of the pot and work the surface oxide scum into a little pile on the edge and massage it back into the melt. The carbon gets consumed almost completely in the reduction process so there is next to no ash remaining when I'm through strirring. I only use clear, hard maple or cherry trimmings from a friend's cabinet shop for this because they have no sap or air pockets to blow up when stuck in molten lead.

Gear

[Steel185]

I've been casting for a short time and my boolits come out shootable but not the quality others that have posted look. Mine are not "shinny" more satin bright. I feel i don't really know what I'm doing in the fluxing area. This is all great help, it took me until the 37th post to realize what i was doing wrong, I was using pine also, i think i used sawdist from plywood once, thinking sawdust is sawdust. Also i wasn't using nearly enough. I was grabbing a large pinch between thumband finger and throwing it in. I will track down hardwood sawdust and put in much more.

Just to be sure: When smelting, i need to cover the entire top, let it burn down to ash, then stur it in. Once stured in, spoon out all the resulting trash. Then add some on top to seal it while smelting.

Casting with bottom pour: once alloy is liquid cover surface with hardwood sawdust, let burn and then stur in. Once stured in, spoon out trash and lightly coer top to seal.

Did i miss anything?

[cbrick]

Steel185,

Nothing wrong with using pine sawdust, it doesn't have to be from a hardwood. Plywood sawdust will also work well but I would be more cautious of the smoke because of the glue. Pine sawdust is about 95% of the sawdust I use and from luan the other 5%. This is what I have access to in large quantity at work so it's what I use and have no problems or issues.

Rick

[timkelley]

I use mostly Doug Fir (here it's red fir) with maybe a little pine in it, GOOD STUFF!

[Steel185]

yesterday I had some time and i smelted 130# of wheel weights and used some hickory shavings i bought at Tractor Supply, normally used for rabbit bedding. It worked great. I backed off on the overall temp and just used the hickory shavings, they took longer to smolder to carbon but it worked great. I was expecting a flame, which usually happens when i used sawdust from pine or plywood, the hickory shavings just slowly turned black. I stured it in and let it really burn down, then scraped it off. The lead was great. While i was pouring it into bars, it took longer than i nomally do because i was using a new 20# mold i welded up and it took a bit to cool, even with setting it on a damp towl, there was literaly no oxidation on the surface in the pot. Much better than what i was doing before.

thanks guys, maybe my boolits will come out better now.

[captaint]

Great info here, as always.. I can tell you one thing I will not use again....kitty litter. Been usin it to insulate the top of the melt. But I keep getting dirty boolits. Flux with wax, sawdust and stir with a walnut stick. Dirty boolits. I'm never puttin the kitty litter in the pot again. Anybody have a cat??? enjoy Mike

[PatMarlin]

One point to consider is when you buy a commercial bedding or wood shaving/sawdust product there is NO guarantee what toxins are possibly combined with, by either the gathering of the wood i.e.: sweeping, grinding, loading, packaging etc., and the quality of the wood form source- plywood, OSB, commercial treatments, farm and construction pesticides, formaldehyde, contamination, etc., etc., etc.

I ask why add more unknown toxic elements to lead casting in order to save a buck? Better to use a pure source from nature if using a wood product, one you know the source and processing trail of.

Pure wood shavings should not leave anything in the alloy. I completely stir from the bottom, sides, and up with CFF and all is clean and cast void free shiney boolits.

[WallyM3]

Damn, Pat, I hadn't thought of that, though it makes complete intuitive sense.



Thanx!

[gray wolf]

One point to consider is when you buy a commercial bedding or wood shaving/sawdust product there is NO guarantee what toxins are possibly combined with, by either the gathering of the wood i.e.: sweeping, grinding, loading, packaging etc., and the quality of the wood form source- plywood, OSB, commercial treatments, farm and construction pesticides, formaldehyde, contamination, etc., etc., etc.

Well said
Ya know if it were 20 years ago I would poo, poo that observation from the above quote.
But with all the **** that goes on today --well I must take it to heart.
The toxins listed above and many others don't always jump up and bite us at the time of use.
They build in our systems over time, like little bombs from China and even our own careless use of materials and chemicals.
I use saw dust and wood shavings I get locally, but I will do my best to find out the origin of my saw dust or make my own.
T

hanks for the heads up.


SAM

[PatMarlin]

Yah- it's a fact of life now days when everything is the dollar bottom line. You know if someone can turn construction waste into bedding they are gonna do it. What was on the warehouse floor or ground before the wood was dropped on it? Who cares.

I don't make any money on CFF (very little when considering the time invovled making sure it's clean, mixing, and boxing) but it's a good use of God's gift and I hate to waste anything. If you saw my milled old growth lumber, planed- you would be suprised at how absolutely beautiful it is. These are trees that are passed on because of blue stain, borers, beetles, etc. and left to rot.

Even if logging was allowed in the area, a commercial operation passes on them. What a total waste, except for the fact that it gives bugs food and goes back to the earth. I see nothing but an amazing work of art in the wood.

[Romeoburbs]

Great info here, as always.. I can tell you one thing I will not use again....kitty litter. Been usin it to insulate the top of the melt. But I keep getting dirty boolits. Flux with wax, sawdust and stir with a walnut stick. Dirty boolits. I'm never puttin the kitty litter in the pot again. Anybody have a cat??? enjoy Mike

Cats are absoltely no good for fluxing! Noisy too!

Kidding aside I too will be trying sawdust and let's say an oak stir sticl. Should work right?

[Ohio Rusty]

I was also getting little pieces of carbonized wood in my lead even after cleaning it really well. I think what is happening is the lead is so heavy, that it it pinning the dirt and wood ash to the bottom of the pot like Hulk Hogan on a skinny guy.
Even after I stir, and clean quite a few times, during my casting session dirt will again surface, and sometimes the particles will start glowing orange when they come to the top of the lead when exposed to air. I use a pouring ladle to pour my boolits.

Now I flux with either wooden paint sticks, or I get a handfull of the free wooden yardsticks you get at the state fair, and use those as fluxing sticks. I can flux and stir at the same time using a flat stick.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[olafhardt]

My dad told me to use sugar. It works.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
There have been previous threads on this subject.
IIRC one mentioned a problem of little bits of Fe metal from the saw in the saw dust causing a casting problem just as smelting in a rusty cast iron dutch oven does.
Unfortunately I can not remember how this problem was fixed.